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Monday, December 11, 2017

Brave (A Wicked Saga, #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout ~ Review

Source: Received an eBook ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Ivy Morgan hasn't been feeling like herself lately. Not like anyone can blame her. After all, being held captive by a psychotic fae prince hell-bent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld is bound to leave some mental scars.

It’s more than that, though. Something dark and insidious is spreading throughout Ivy, more powerful than she could ever imagine... and it’s coming between her and the man she’s fallen deeply in love with, elite Order member Ren Owens.

Ren would do anything to keep Ivy safe. Anything. But when he makes a life altering choice for her, the fallout of his act has far reaching consequences that threaten to tear their lives apart. If Ivy is going to have any hope of surviving this, she must put aside the hurt and betrayal she feels, and work with not only those she loves, but with an enemy she would rather kill than ever trust. War is coming, and it soon becomes clear that what Ivy and Ren thought they knew about the Order, themselves, and even their enemies, has been nothing but a cluster of dangerous, deadly lies. Ivy knows she must be more than just brave to save those she loves--and, ultimately, to save herself.

I waited so long for this series finale. I love this series and couldn't wait for this book. It was with this much excitement that I dived into the this book. And I'll be honest, I put it down. Why? It's simple. And the blurb tells the story. "Ivy Morgan hasn't been feeling like herself lately." Nope she hasn't and her "stay" with the psychotic prince has definitely left some emotional scars. It was hard to read. To see Ivy this way. To see how it effected her and Ren. But she couldn't and shouldn't jump up and be all sunshine and rainbows after what she's been through. So once I accepted that and dug back into the book, I was amazed at how good this book is.I've always know that JLA was a master of plot development. She can weave a story like nobody's business. But this book still amazed me as the threads came together and all the pieces fit. A full circle emerged as truth came to light. Who can you trust? Who is right and who is wrong? Who will save who and who will die? It's all woven together to create something I just didn't think I could believe. A character I hated with all my heart turned to something different. Say wwwhat? Only JLA could do that. And the one character that I wanted most to help Ivy gouge out her eyes? Yeah, that was a surprise. No. Not telling you move. Read it.This book ties this series to a conclusion with a small hope of more to come. It's a masterpiece of betrayal and trust. It brings to life a story that mirrors our own world. It goes beyond a love story where everything turns to happily ever after. It shows the hard work that makes a relationship that lasts. The give and take. The anger. The love. The tenderness. The acceptance. It is real and yet it is paranormal. It rocks the real world and the fictional is a way that makes a person think as well as be entertained. It is JLA at her finest.And beyond the heavy there is the classic moments that can only come from a JLA book. Moments of surprise. Moments of Tink. The guy is so interesting. Him and his suitcase. Oh, no. I'm not telling but you will definitely want to pay attention to that little detail. Just wait till he opens it. He is one bada$$ brownie and he's the best comic relief evvvverrrr! Adore him.You need this whole series in your life. If you have not read it and paranormal is your thing, then why the heck not? Fix that at your earliest convenience! As in immediately! Move it to the top of the list!

My reading of this series has been quite...sporadic. I read Wicked less than a month after it released, and I remember liking it a whole heck of a lot. But then I didn't read Torn until...yesterday. Seriously. So it's been years since I started this series. Mostly because I wanted to binge read books 2 and 3 -- which I did. And, honestly, I'm glad I did because I got SO into it. As for Brave in and of itself, this was an intense, solid finale.

One of my favorite things about Brave is the massive growth we see in Ivy. She's come a long way in these three books, and seeing where she stood at the end of it all was so satisfying. Another one of my favorite things about Brave was, of course, Tink. He's been a fun character since the beginning, but he truly stepped up as an amazing, caring friend in this one and I loved it.

Then there's the icing on top of the Wicked cake -- Ren. I'll admit, I got frustrated with him (and, at some points, Ivy) at certain moments throughout the book. But through it all, he is worth ALL of the swoons. He's supportive, he's kind, he's protective, and gosh darn it he's seriously effing hot. Seeing his and Ivy's relationship walk through fire and come out stronger in the end was the BEST.

As always, Jennifer L. Armentrout has written a book that I couldn't have put down if I tried. There was so much packed into this book, it was kind of impossible to get bored. Not to mention the expertly written plot points...that I'm not going to say more about, because I'm not giving anything away. HOWEVER, I will say that there was one certain thing that was supposed to be a reveal kind of thing, but I'd figured it out waaaay earlier. So that didn't have quite the impact it could have.

Also, in terms of things that made this a great read as opposed to a perfect read, there were certain aspects that I personally just wasn't a fan of, namely things done in the Otherworld. It didn't ruin the book for me (obviously), but if you look at my rating and think "why not 5?" -- welp, those are my two little reasons why: lost impact on THING, and certain aspects that didn't work for me personally.

Overall, Brave was an incredibly satisfying conclusion to Ivy and Ren's story. If you're looking for some kickass paranormal romance, I absolutely recommend getting your hands on the Wicked trilogy!